With current levels of digital usage and the continued evolution of technology, we are in largely uncharted waters when it comes to the long-term consequences of use. It is clear, however, that we are already seeing an increase in problems as a result. First, we will explore the impact on the brain and the potential for addition, followed by other concerns related to life and the dimensions of health.

The Neuroscience Involved with Technology Usage

Neuroplasticity

How developing youth spend their time impacts brain development. Neuroscientists have known for a while that experience and activities influence the release of specific neurotransmitters, thus strengthening particular synaptic connections in the brain cortex while weakening others. The brains of children are especially plastic, explaining why the younger an individual is when they experience a brain injury the greater potential for recovery they have, as new synaptic connections readily form to take over the functions of damaged ones. This phenomenon of plasticity also explains the ease with which young children can learn the complex nuances of various languages as compared with adults. Thus, it should not be surprising that children’s brains would develop differently as a consequence of the time they spend focused on small and large screens. For example, neural pathways that favor skills necessary to master handheld digital devices, such as the frequent shifting of attention, will strengthen at the expense of those pathways necessary for the sustained focused attention necessary for reading a long text or listening to a prolonged lecture.

Behavioral Addiction

Neuroscientists have discovered that humans become addicted very easily to various substances and behaviors that raise the dopamine levels in their brains. Most people realize that opiates, gambling, and even sex and food can cause addictive behavior such as ignoring work and other responsibilities in favor of getting this dopamine rush. Now people are starting to realize that a video game played on an app on one’s smartphone, or pictures or texts sent by one’s peers, may have the same potential to become addictive through raising dopamine levels.

Companies like Neurons Inc, which measure the electrical activity of the brain while using apps, are hired by social media developers like Facebook to determine which features produce the most dopamine. Behavioral cues trigger dopamine spikes which relieve psychological distress, and our phones with their apps have been engineered to produce these dopamine spikes, which are highly addictive and take over free will to choose how to spend one’s time in favor of the strong desire for relief from psychic pain or angst. Furthermore, the apps are masterminded to provide variable schedules of reinforcement which are the most powerful mechanisms of reinforcement for learning. In a variable schedule of reinforcement the user does not know when they might receive the coveted prize, which may be a “like” on an Instagram post, something that has the added effect of being a social reinforcer which is highly satisfying to teens.

The brains of adolescents are especially vulnerable to rewarding information because the prefrontal cortex is not fully mature and does not inhibit the emotional limbic system. These behaviorally addicted teens can show symptoms of addiction such as anxiety or panic when they lose access to their phones, even for a short time, and are unable to stop using them on their own even when they want to. Around the world, treatment centers are opening for adults and even teens who are so addicted to digital media that it is interfering with school, jobs and normal lives. The popularity of how-to books such as How to Break Up with Your Phone speaks to the amount of people realizing their lives are becoming unmanageable because of the miraculous digital device in their pockets.

Smartphone Dependence

Research reveals that mobile phone dependence has been found to cause damage to the physical and mental health and social functions of high school students, including depression, sleep problems, and poor cognitive and reduced learning abilities [4, 5]. Therefore, research on mobile phone dependence is of great significance to the physical and mental health of students. Previous studies [11, 12] have shown that anxiety can positively predict mobile phone dependence. Anxious individuals believe that they can relax themselves when using mobile phones, so that they can temporarily stay away from anxious events and environments, and gain a sense of control over themselves [13]. However, those are often the first sign and feelings of mobile phone dependence. It is hypothesized that individuals with mobile phone dependence may have poorer core self-evaluation (evaluation of individual’s self-ability and value) that gradually develops to mobile phone dependence.^[1]

Social Media Design Concerns

• What is the goal of social media companies?
• To increase consumption and use to sell products and services
• By using tactics that are biologically addictive and release dopamine (Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google)
• Apps are designed to foster comparison
• Before social media: comparison within your social circle (in-person)
• After social media: comparison to social circle and the rest of the world
• Fear of missing out (FOMO)